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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. club — for golf
  3. face — to point toward
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — a leader
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. mine — for digging
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — a group
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. rock — music
  14. key — in music
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. tear — to rip
  18. face — to confront
  19. key — for a lock
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. face — part of the head
  22. capital — money
  23. tear — from crying
  24. capital — a city

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com